Portsmouth will arrive on Tyneside tomorrow for Saturday's game with Newcastle United racked with problems from self-inflicted internal strife.

Saturday's game has certainly taken a back seat on the south coast as Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric and former boss Harry Redknapp have been at each other's throats.

And with Redknapp now installed as boss of deadly rivals Southampton, the rows between the two of them show no sign of abating.

However, the man who caused some of those rows, Portsmouth's new director of football Velimir Zajec, will appeal for unity before they leave the south coast tomorrow for the long trek to Tyneside.

But United, who themselves usually attract the sort of headlines that have been exclusively Portsmouth's this week, will be hoping the damage has already been done.

Meanwhile, Rupert Lowe believes he has finally found the man to revive Southampton's fortunes after appointing Redknapp as the club's third manager of the season.

The move may not have gone down well at rivals Portsmouth, where less than a fortnight before the 57-year-old had tears in his eyes as he left Fratton Park, claiming he needed a complete break from the game.

At the time, Redknapp maintained he did not know how long his self-imposed exile would last.

And during yesterday's press conference, both he and his new chairman insisted negotiations over an 18-month contract did not begin until the start of his week.

The former West Ham manager admitted he was uncomfortable with life on the sofa on a Saturday afternoon, watching the results come in rather than having an influence on them from the dugout.

Steve Wigley was the latest manager - in a total of six in four years - to depart St Mary's, deciding not to take up the offer of remaining on the coaching staff.

The former Saints Academy chief had only been in charge for 17 games since taking over from Paul Sturrock at the end of August, winning only once in the Barclays Premiership - a statistic which prompted Lowe to act with the club third from bottom of the table.

Given the timing of Redknapp's appointment, there were claims from Pompey supremo Mandaric that a deal had been brokered while he was still in charge at Fratton Park - something which was strenuously denied by both the new Saints boss and his chairman.

"I got a phone call Monday afternoon, this came about out of the blue. That was how it was all done," insisted Redknapp, who maintained his controversial switch along the south coast had not been a "betrayal" to Pompey's board and supporters.

"I didn't deserve what had happened to me at the end, but I have moved on," he added.

"I left Pompey half way up the Premiership table and circumstances at the club had changed. I left them with some fantastic players - players you would love to have at any Premier League club."